Lab 11 - Ballistic Pendulum Research

A ballistic pendulum is a device used to measure a bullet's momentum or the transfer of momentum of any device/object, and from which it is possible to calculate the velocity and kinetic energy. The measurements needed are the maximum height the pendulum reached, the mass of the object in the collision, and the mass of the bob. The main physics principles involved is the law of conservation of momentum and the law of conservation of energy.

Sources

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50669/ballistic-pendulum
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/balpen.html


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A catcher ballistic pendulum, stopping the pendulum at the maximum height

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Hey! This looks familiar. This type of ballistic pendulum is used quite often in classroom environments. But would never be used because of how expensive it is.

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This ballistic pendulum comes with a built in clamp for those high velocity collisions.